Saturday, July 31, 2010

Kimble loves to be in his bouncy chair now. He bounces and bounces and bounces. He doesn't care at all about the stationary toys in front of him, or the fact that if you punch at it, lights and music follow. He just wants to bounce!

He is just so much fun. Next week he'll be nine months old! These past few weeks have been just huge for Kimble, and his new developmental skills. More on that next week!

Oh, and Kamy and Keaton drew this on the chalkboard last night. I love my kids' artwork, in all it's different forms!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

In an effort to reshape my body and lose weight, I have dramatically changed my eating habits. I haven't had "sugar" for over two weeks, meaning that I have refused all sweets (including chocolate!) and haven't had anything made with flour (freshly baked bread is a weakness for me). I have been eating proteins, nuts, veggies, and fruits during the day, and I'll allow carbs at dinner with moderation. Significantly reducing carbs is a huge change in my diet, and I'm hoping I see huge results in return.

Somewhat stubbornly, I have begun exercising too. This has always been an area of struggle for me. I absolutely hate to run. Everyone says "Start running...you'll love it!". I've been hearing that my whole life, and yet, I've always hated running.

However, I grew up having two wheels attached to my body. I've always enjoyed biking. So, The Husband got me a bike. Call it a belated birthday gift, or motivational support for my weight loss goals. Whatever you call it, I've got myself a brand new shiny bike. He even bought me biking gloves.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

We had a church picnic last Saturday up at Black Forest Park. It was pretty overcast and windy when I got up at 6am, but by the time we went there at 11am, it was about 72 degrees and perfect. There were hamburgers and hot dogs and all manner of side dishes and desserts. There were also enough popsicles and ice cream bars to feed a small army.

This is the only picture I was in, so I'm including it, just to document the fact that I was there.

Kolby had a loose tooth, that quite frankly, has been loose for a while. It drives me nuts when the kids baby their loose teeth forever. Just pull it out!! Anyway, Kolby's was just barely hangin' on, but he absolutely refused to let me get anywhere near it. I even tried to bribe him with money and treats, and also had one of our friends (a dentist) try to get Kolby to let him pull it out, but he wouldn't budge. It ended up coming out the next day, when he bit into a corn dog.

After food was eaten, fun was to be had. Here is a picture of a slingshot the men rigged up. They were shooting off little water balloons to a large crowd down the hill. It was fun to watch.

With all the empty bottles of pop, the boys all got to make bottle rockets to shoot off. Keaton and Kolby couldn't have been more thrilled.

While I was with the kiddos, helping them, and taking pictures of everything, I had some friends that were more than willing to entertain Mr. Kimble.

Oh, where was The Husband, you ask? That is a very good question, and one that got asked a lot that morning. So, The Husband, along with two other husbands of wives that were there that day, went out for a bike ride at 7am that morning. We all thought they would be back by 11 for the picnic, but they never showed up. I think they finally came at 1pm, with stories of "hike-a-biking" and car starter problems, and who knows what else. Anyway, they finally showed up, and by that point, everyone there knew that they were late, and quite possibly, in trouble.

They grabbed some cold hamburgers, told their story of woe to anyone that would hear, and were put in charge of kids for the rest of the day. Later that night, us girls went to a movie, and left husbands in charge of kids for the night.

Kolby found lots of things to occupy his time. He squirted anyone he came across, with water from this water gun he "borrowed" from some kid. Eventually, he and his water buddies got their dues, when they got chased down by their friend's dad, and got buckets of cold water dumped on them. It was all in fun, though.

Keaton's first bottle rocket wouldn't work, for some reason, so he made another one, and launched it again and again. He had so much fun.

The boys both came home with their bottle rockets, which are now adorning the shelf in their room. It was a really great day for a BBQ in the park.

We had about five sewing machines going, as well as people cutting and pinning. It was a great assembly line.

I brought Kamy to help me, and she and her friends (one of them, Brittany, pictured with her) even helped tie fleece blankets for a while, and then they helped out in the nursery with the little kids.

I brought home 37 blankets that were finished. There are at least 20 more that were taken home by everyone else, to put the finishing touches on, like binding or topstitching. It was a fun night, and such a great thing to be involved with! Thank you everyone who made this night possible!

Friday, July 23, 2010

My family (brothers, sisters, in-lawers, my dad, and a friend or two) are doing a competition, of sorts, to lose weight. We all put 15 dollars into the pot, and the person with the most percentage of weight loss at the end of the eight weeks, will get the prize.

I took my "before" pictures. I weighed myself. I said goodbye to my excess everything, and turned a new leaf. Now, I'm a week into it. So far, I've changed my eating habits entirely. It feels great. However, I have pretty much failed at working out. For reasons I won't go into (you don't need to hear my paltry excuses anyway) I just haven't worked out...for.a.long.time. A LONG time. That LONG time results in me looking the way I look. It's time to get back into a smaller size. A much.smaller.size.

So, this brings me to this morning.

This morning I wasn't even thinking of doing a workout. Actually, I was doing everything I could NOT to think about doing a workout.

Anyway, Kimble had a blowout. A super bad one. My sister Courtney took a picture a few weeks back, of a blowout that her newborn baby girl had. It was everywhere! Well, Corks, Kimble's blowout would make Jordyn's blowout seem tiny in comparison. Stay with me. This has a connection to working out. So, the blowout was all over me, Kimble, and his blankets that were between us. So, as I was cleaning him up, I had to change what I was wearing (as well as the sheets and blankets and clothing that he had) and as I was searching for some more pajamas to cram my monstrous thighs into and snuggle back under the covers in my bed, I came across my old workout pants. "Old" as in had.for.a.long.time.but.hardly.used "old". There were no jammy pants to be found. So, I put on the stupid workout pants. Then, guilt overcame me. Since I had them on already, I figured I needed to do some exercising.

So, Kimble's blowout resulted in a clothing change, which resulted in inadvertently putting on workout clothes, which resulted in me going downstairs and doing the elliptical while smelling my favorite laundry soap (Gain) and listening to the washing machine clean all the blowout items. I even put on shoes. Although I think the shoes are super cute, I hate wearing shoes. I seriously have the most claustrophobic feet.

Today, I rocked the workout. Let's hope I have my own motivation in the future, and don't have to rely on a blowout to get me exercising.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

I made some bibs for Mr. Kimble. Even though he is still refusing all foods, I am anticipating the day when he will eat. Baby can't live on breastmilk alone, right?

So, about a month ago, I was chatting with some girlfriends at the park, and one of them, Heidi, had something in her hand. It looked cute, so I grabbed it to see what it was. It was the cutest corduroy bib! She said her mom made it for her (if I remember correctly). I declared myself INSPIRED and took a picture of her bib so that I could recreate it's masterpiece on my own time. This is the picture.

Just adorable! So, last week, I saw that the plain corduroy fabric was on sale. So I got some of that, and used my 40% off coupon on the printed corduroy (the owls!) and went home with great enthusiasm. In no time at all, I made five bibs. They turned out so cute!

The backs are lined with either blue or green corduroy, depending on what I used on the front.

After I made one after the likes of Heidi's bib, I became adventurous and made other decorative touches.

Keaton helped hold up Kimble, so I could take some pictures of him wearing the bib. Keaton was still in his pajamas, although it was two in the afternoon. My kinda kid.

At this point, Mr. Kimble was ready for his nap.

What do you think? Super cute and totally super durable. I mean, you can't go wrong with cute little owls on corduroy, can you?

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

That's not purple nail polish on Georgie's thumb. It got smooshed in a door last night, as Georgie was running after Kamy, who was being chased by Daddy, and in an effort not to get tickled, Kamy ran into a bedroom and tried to close the door, but Daddy was too quick and had slipped inside already. Georgie, however, was not so quick. Her thumb got smooshed...badly.

It was a night of pain and throbbing for Georgie. We gave her an icepack and tylenol, but it didn't help much. She slept on the floor in our room, whimpering.

This morning, it still hurts, but Georgie is back to her normal self, with a thumb that is still swollen, and a nail that is bound to come off. Poor girl.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

I went for a power walk last night, trying to begin a new workout regime, and I invited Keaton to walk with me. I told him we'd be speed walking, and there was no time for conversation. He agreed, and we set out for 45 minutes through hills, paths, sidewalks, and streets.

I showed Keaton that we needed to walk super fast, and we can move our arms in rhythm with our legs, to help us maintain speed. He started walking with me, perfectly in step, matching my moves exactly. He was so focused on watching me, that he almost fell off the sidewalk step. But, he had a grin on his face the entire time.

Within a minute of us leaving the house, the conversation began:

"Oh that Isaiah, a kid from my class, was such a bully to me. I was really upset, but I held it in..." We talked about Isaiah for a few minutes.

"This is the path Daddy and I take. Oh my gosh, it's so steep! Do you see that part right there, the new sidewalk?...That part just kills me. It's so hard. Sometimes I just have to say "stop!" and rest my tired muscles...

"What a beautiful rainbow! That's a reminder from Heavenly Father that he will never flood the earth again. Mom, do you know how many times the earth was flooded before Noah?" I answer that there was never a flood before Noah, and never one after. Keaton said "Wouldn't it be so super cool if there were Astronauts during that time, and if they were in a spaceship, when there was the flood, all they would have seen is dark clouds and water over the entire earth." I agreed that that would have been neat to see.

"Wow! Look at that house! What a beautiful white porch. I would love to buy that house. If it was free, I'd totally buy it."

"This is how you skip. (Keaton demonstrates) This is how you gallop. See, I can walk super fast on my tiptoes. Now I can keep my legs straight but still walk....see!"

Keaton copies my movements again, exactly, and with a grin on his face again. He is so cute.

"Let's go left mom. We haven't gone left yet."

"I can do some sweet karate moves. Watch me. (Keaton punches the air with force, and includes some awesome sound effects). Now look again, this is a different way to punch. (Does some different punches, with gusto) I know how to karate kick too, but I don't want to do it right now, or I might kick you in your legs. That won't be good...or nice....I'll run ahead and do it instead." (Keaton runs ahead to do his karate kick. It's awesome.)

"Mom, are you tired? I think you are tired. You should be tired by now. Whew. I think you should stop and rest. Let's rest mom. Right now." (Keaton leans against a tree.) "I'm just gonna stretch my body against this tree mom!" Keaton yells to me, as I continue walking. He stretches, then runs to catch up, and mimics my movements again.

"Which way should we go now mom? Wait...let me think. Hmmm...do you think I should have a book on my head?" I'm perplexed, so I ask him why. "So it can make me smarter. Books make you smarter, don't they? If I have some on my head, sometimes it makes me smarter."

"Whew. It's tough work walking and talking."

"Mom, how do you remember how to speak, in the morning, after you've not spoken all night?"

"Look at the sky mom! Did you know that long long ago, the sky was really low to the ground. There were these Indians, and one was really tall. The tallest Indian kept bonking his head on the sky. So, the seven wisest Indians got together to think of how to solve the problem. The seventh wise Indian suggested that everyone push up the sky. Then, it didn't work. Do you know why it didn't work? It's because nobody was working together. So they said, "Hey, we need the seventh wisest Indian to come back here and help us!" and he did. When he came back, he suggested they all work together, at the same time. Then, they did it, and they had such force, that they poked holes through the sky, and the sky is still like that, and it's the stars that you see, peeking through the holes."

"Oh look....we are home! I'm thirsty from all this talking....and walking."

He said so much more, and it was so funny. I quite enjoyed our time together.

Monday, July 19, 2010

During Kimble's last stay in the hospital, I occupied my time by flipping through some cooking magazines that I checked out of the library there. I copied lots of recipes, to be tried out at a later date. Today seemed like a great day to go through them and see how I could incorporate them into my meals.

So, I separated out all the yummy sweet recipes (to be used later, because I'm watching what I eat right now) and decided to try some of the dinner ideas. Here is what I'm making for the next seven days.

My grocery list is actually pretty short, as I already have all the chicken and pork in my freezer. I am mostly getting fresh produce, and stocking up on other things that we need, like cereal, lunch stuff, and fruit and veggies.

If you are interested, I'll post the successful recipes.

Just to answer a few random questions:

1. Kimble is doing great! He's getting more strength, has rolled over from his tummy to his back a few times, and enjoys napping in his crib. Last night, he only woke up once to eat, and I'm still stunned. He still won't eat baby food, but he loves mashed potatoes, if I put it in his mouth with my finger.

2. I bought the material for his crib set at Joann Fabric.

3. This week, my women's group at church (the Relief Society) is making blankets for my blanket drive! I'll make a post about it on Friday. If you are interested in donating blankets to the Children's Hospital, just email me for an address to send it to!! Just three more months until we deliver them!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

This weekend we had some great friends come stay with us. Sam and Carolann Rogers were neighbors of ours in California, when both our husbands were stationed there. We have moved. They have moved. It's been over two years since we have seen each other. It was great to reconnect again, as they stopped over here on their way to a family reunion in Utah. We were delighted to offer them our "guest quarters" and show them around our town. We try to sell everyone on the delight of Colorado. This weekend was no exception.

We ate a big breakfast Saturday morning, then packed up a lunch for later. By 10 am we were on the way to Monument, to go for a hike at the base of the mountains. This is one of my favorite hikes, as it is more of a stroll through some lovely meadows, ending at a HUGE rock. If I could build a house anywhere, it would be there. So, here are some pictures for you. First up, we took family pictures by the trailhead.

We took our time getting to the rock. There were moments of tears from a few kids and terror from Kamy over some bumblebees, but overall, the kids did great. Kimble was happy to be outside, and I think he enjoyed the walk very much.

Almost to the big rock! From this angle, it looks like a big beehive.

Keaton loves this little spot on the rock that I can boost him up to. He was very content to sit and watch the beautiful scenery around us.

I enjoyed getting creative with angles and perspectives by shooting this picture using the reflection of The Husband's sunglasses.

As we were leaving the big rock, on our way back on the loop trail to the car, we loved the beautiful sky, contrasting with the rock and the shrubbery. Just lovely!!

When we were done with that hike, we passed out the lunches to everyone, and we ate while driving back to Colorado Springs and up through the mountains. One of Heath's favorite drives is Gold Camp Road, which takes you up through the mountain and gives you a great bird's eye view of our city.

The road comes back down and lands you right at Helen Hunt Falls (not named after the actress) and we let the kids play in the ICY cold water coming down from the falls. It was very cold at first, but as with all things, you get use to it.

Mr. Kimble is always good for some snuggles and kisses.

By 3pm, we started driving back to the house to rest a bit. We relaxed. We ate dinner. Then, we went to Garden of the Gods right before sunset. It was deliciously cool and lovely.

I think this is a fabulous picture of The Rogers Family, and should totally be their Christmas Card Picture....even if it is six months away.

My kids always love exploring all the rocks and trails. Kolby can't seem to do anything without it involving a big stick.

After that, we went home. Carolann and I had planned on going to a late night movie, but by that time, we were both exhausted from the activities of the day, so after we showered all the kids, we all just went to bed.

They stayed for an hour of church today, before they took off to Utah. It was so great to have them come!!

Why am I organizing a Blanket Drive?

CHD

Feel free to contact me, if you have any questions about congenital heart defects. I'm happy to be of help any way I can.

Wanna contact me?kamyrensmiles@hotmail.com

All photographs, stories, drawings, and whatever else I post on this blog belong to me and may not be used without my permission.

Who am I?

Wife, momma, sister, friend...blah blah blah. I live in a gorgeous mansion with my rockin' husband and my five incredibly well behaved and beautiful children who fill my life with indescribable joy. I love to rearrange my house about as often as I like to eat chocolate and peanut butter. You'll often find me behind the lens of a camera, in my kitchen cooking, in the mountains hiking, watching new movies, sewing, blogging(!), trying to be a runner, eating french fries, or gathering people to play games. We are business owners, church-goers, vacationers, and foodies. Welcome to our family.